The Temple of Fire’s Fall

Arthur sat down on his chair as he held a cup of coffee in his hands, drinking from time to time as he spoke.

"It all started around a thousand years ago. The Temple of Fire was the most glorious church out of all the other temples in the world."

"The main reason for this was because the God of Fire was the strongest out of all the gods of the other temples."

The expression on Arthur's face became proud, but there were also traces of longing in his eyes.

"Until the Ancient Evil World waged a war against our world."

"The Ancient Evil World's inhabitants have a unique talent of their own that caused a headache to the gods and other powerhouses of our world."

"Therefore, the major forces of our world have agreed to battle the Ancient Evil World's inhabitants with their full force."

"The God of Fire, being the strongest, led the attack to the Ancient Evil World. He faced the strongest existence in that world, called the Lord of Evil and won after a very long and gruesome fight."

"Although I didn't participate in the battle and remained here in our world to oversee our temple, the description of the bishops and knights who did were vivid. I can only imagine how epic the battle was!"

"Even though we emerged victorious, many of our forces had fallen, only about less than 10% were left and the rest were wiped out."

As he started to remember the bad memories of the past, Arthur unconsciously strengthened his grip on the cup of coffee in his trembling hands.

"Suffering unimaginable losses, the Temple of Fire's forces began to rest in order to regain their strength."

"But this was where it all happened. As our forces tried to gather back their strength, we suffered countless attacks from the remnant forces of the Ancient Evil World."

"Our god had to fend them off all the time to make sure that we were safe, but at the same time, it hindered his recovery."

Arthur said as he gritted his teeth.

"It all happened over and over again, no matter where we fled. We tried asking the other temples for help but none of them came, not even a single one."

"We were still able to fend for ourselves until that moment arrived. We were cornered by the remnant forces of the Ancient Evil World who brought their own remaining existences on par with the gods."

"Our god, the God of Fire who didn't have time to recover and was weakened to the extreme, was forced to fight."

"We could still hold up but what happened next brought despair to us. An unknown force attacked us from behind which caught us off guard. They also brought a god-grade existence with them making it more difficult for the God of Fire."

"If he was at his peak, the God of Fire wouldn't have any problems dealing with them. But alas, the situation was not in our favor."

As he was focused on speaking, Arthur did not know but he was starting to slightly emit a ferocious aura, making breathing a little difficult for Zen.

As it was still bearable, Zen did not interrupt Arthur's story.

"After a few exchanges with the two god-grade existences, our situation was becoming more and more dire which made us hopeless."

"Lastly, the God of Fire gave us, the remaining group of priests, all his inheritances and made us flee."

"As I unwillingly fled, I heard a loud explosion which burned the area where the battle happened. Even if I were already kilometers away from the battle, I could still feel the heat that came from the explosion. I soon realized after a while that it was the God of Fire's self-destruction."

Clink~

The cup of coffee in Arthur's hands, which was made of glass, shattered.

As the sound of glass shattering reverberated around the room, Arthur came to his senses and regained his calmness.

"Oh sorry, I got a little bit too excited."

Arthur said as he noticed Zen slightly gasping for air.

"Oh don't worry, it's bearable so please continue with your story."

Zen said politely as he tried to control his breathing.

"Well if you say so…"

Arthur looked at Zen, and continued speaking after a brief pause.

"That was it, I fled and hid in villages and towns located in remote places in order to not be found."

"What made me really angry was the fact that the other churches looked for us, claiming that they were there to help us rebuild our church."

"They reek of hypocrisy and malice, so I didn't trust any of them. The other remaining priests did the same."

"However, as time passed by, I noticed through our special communication device that the remaining priests of our Church of Fire continued to dwindle until it was only me who was left."

"There was also a time where the forces of different churches discovered me and offered me various things in exchange for the inheritance of our church."

"I immediately escaped and wandered around many different villages. As I traveled, the forces of the Church of Light found me and tried to attack me openly."

"That was when I confirmed it, I became sure that they have all schemed behind our backs and betrayed us. Fortunately, I was lucky and was able to fend them off."

As Arthur showed a toothy grin as he said this, clearly proud of having deceived the Temple of Light.

Zen, who was enthralled in listening to Arthur's story, came to his senses and posed a question.